


New Beginnings

by sunflowersandsunshining



Category: Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Cute, Drama, F/M, Family, Family Drama, Fluffy, did this for a thing on tumblr!, first person POV, kinda.
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-19
Updated: 2017-12-24
Packaged: 2019-02-16 21:02:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,508
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13062093
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sunflowersandsunshining/pseuds/sunflowersandsunshining
Summary: The marriage was a secret. But they have to know eventually.





	1. Chapter 1

“They’ll love you, I promise,” he whispered as the house started to appear on the horizon.

“I’m not so sure.” I eyed him suspiciously. “I’m terrible at chess. I’ve got these,” I pointed at my long, sharp ears. “And I don’t even know what Satinalia is.” 

He sighed and I buried my face into his coat as our horse continued to the home of Mia, Cullen’s personal stalker and lovely older sister. “Maker preserve us.” he murmured.

It had been years since the Inquisition had ended, and my relationship with Cullen had bloomed since our accidentally secret wedding. We were visiting Cullen’s family, much to my dismay; I dreaded this visit, knowing that we’d have to break the news that, _surprise, we’re family!,_ to three people I’ve never even so much as written a letter to before.

And of course, Cullen had decided the best time to break the news was during the holidays. “It’s a time for joy,” he had proclaimed, grinning at his own idea. “It’ll be perfect.” 

We arrived just before sundown, golden light bathing the large, brightly decorated house. Cullen dismounted first, then offering a shy hand to help me off; I exhaled and took it, hoping for warmth in my newfound family.

Our mabari companion barked happily as we approached the house slowly. “If anything bad happens,” I whispered into his ear. “You owe me a backrub.” 

He laughed. “Alright.”

Suddenly, the door swung open, almost violently; we both jumped with a start as a sweet, happy face appeared in the doorway. “Cullen!” the short figure yelled.

“Rosalie,” he exhaled. “Maker’s breath, you scared us--”

“Is this her?!” she exclaimed excitedly. 

“Yes.” Cullen sighed and turned to me sheepishly. “This is Rosalie, my youngest sister--”

“And cutest Rutherford!” she interjected.

“...Yes.” he shrugged at me and I giggled.

“I might contest that title,” I joked, walking forward to greet my new in-law. “I’m Lavellan, and I’m--”

Before I could finish my sentence, Rosalie had run off further into the building, yelling, “Mia! Branson!” 

“She never really grew up, I’m assuming.” I said, turning back to Cullen.

“No, I suppose not.” he said, exasperated. “Shall we?” he gestured towards the door.

I smiled and took his arm and walked into the threshold of my new life, into a large front room filled with candles, colorful decorations, and various flowers in hues of red and white. It smelled of pine and baked goods. A large, oak table sat in the middle of the room; it was already set with shining silverware. Past the table was a kitchen, filled with three figures; two short, one tall; all approaching us. Our mabari had run ahead and was sitting patiently under the table already, preemptively begging for scraps.

Cullen squeezed my arm. “They’ll love you.” he whispered into my ear.

“Lavellan?” a slightly deep, feminine voice called out. The tallest figure, who I recognized as Mia, appeared out of the kitchen first, smiling. Mia was definitely the one most familiar with me; she constantly wrote to Cullen who no doubt had a lot to say about _the Inquisitor._ She was about the height of Cullen, with long, dirty blonde hair that fell free down her back and pale skin. 

“That’s me,” I laughed timidly. 

“My name is Mia. This is Branson,” she motioned to one of the shorter figures, a small, fox-like man with black hair. “You’ve already met Rosalie.”

The smallest figure waved, a huge grin on her face. “Welcome!”

I smiled sheepishly at the family. It was weird. Usually I was the confident leader of the Inquisition; but around Cullen’s family, I felt tiny.

“You two arrived just in time,” Mia said. “Dinner’s ready.” 

After too much fussing and arguing over who sat where, I ended up in between Cullen and Rosalie, sitting across from Branson and Mia as my mabari roamed the land under the table for any sign of dropped food. 

“Your cooking is lovely.” I commented, nodding towards Branson. 

“Thank you.” he smiled. “Mother taught me everything I know.” 

“How’s your family, Lavellan?” Mia asked, taking a bite of her roasted nug.

“My clan’s my family,” I answered with a smile. “So… I have a lot of siblings, cousins, mothers, fathers…”

“You’re downsizing with us, then,” Rosalie giggled. “I hope you don’t mind.”

“It’s okay. I prefer quality over quantity.” I responded, glancing over at Cullen.

Branson smiled. “It’s like you’re already family.” 

“She is.” Cullen breathed quickly as he took a sip of his wine.

“What does that mean?” Mia raised an eyebrow at Cullen. 

Cullen sighed. “We’re--” 

“Loving this dinner!” I interjected harshly, kicking Cullen under the table.

Mia narrowed her eyes at Cullen suspiciously, but continued her meal. “I’m glad.”

“I need to use the restroom,” I said, standing up abruptly. “Come with me, Cullen.”

“I’m sorry?” He cried as I pulled his ear into a room off the side of the main hall. I could hear Rosalie and Branson snickering as Mia bore holes into my back with her glare.

Cullen and I stumbled into a small restroom and I stared up at him with tears in my eyes. “I’m not ready, Cullen,” I whispered, choking back sobs. “What if…” I trailed off.

“Do you want to know something?” he said.

“What?” 

“I’m scared, too.” he murmured. 

Cullen Rutherford. Scared. How?

“Why?” I asked quietly, stunned.

“I love you,” he said, pulling me close. “If they don’t love the person I love… then…” 

“Oh, Cullen…” I gasped. 

“It’s all going to be okay.” he whispered into my hair; I knew I wasn’t the only one he was trying to convince in that moment.

We remained there for a moment as I caught my breath to try again. I eventually crept out of the bathroom, Cullen following behind silently; we returned to the Rutherfords laughing and giggling about Maker knows what.

“-- With an Orlesian tickler!” Branson cried out with a giant smile on his face. “I swear, I’d never seen…” 

Cullen cleared his throat and walked into the main hall. I hid behind him shyly; I was still nervous about telling them we had gotten married already. I felt stupid - I fought dragons and darkspawn and I couldn’t tell some strangers I married the man I love? 

“Hello, Cullen.” Mia said, the smile melting off of her face. “Is everything alright?”

“Yes!” I cried quickly from behind. 

Cullen sighed. “No.” He said slowly, walking towards the table. “We have something to tell you.”

“Maker’s breath, you’re pregnant?!” Rosalie yelled, slamming her tiny fists onto the table. “I’m gonna have a nephew! Or a niece! Wow!”

Me and Cullen went beet red and I scrambled to dispel Rosalie’s words. “No! No! Creators! No!” I gasped.

Rosalie and Branson started laughing, but Mia’s stare was as intense as ever. “What is it, Cullen?” Mia asked, ignoring the hooting coming from her younger siblings.

“At Halamshiral,” I blurted out, allowing my nervous energy to carry me through the confession like it was adrenaline. “Cullen… proposed. We got married. There.”

The laughs in the room completely stopped, as if suffocated out by the tension in the air. 

“Well.” Mia eventually said, slowly rising to her feet. “I’m... glad.”

“You… are?” Cullen gasped, relief seeping into his voice. 

“You’re lovely, Lavellan,” Mia smiled at me. “I’m glad Cullen has someone responsible looking after him. Perhaps I won’t have to track him down every few years with you around.” she laughed heartily. 

“Oh, Creators. Thank you.” I sighed, finally stepping forward to stand evenly with Cullen. He instinctively put his arm around me and I kissed his cheek; Rosalie whooped and aw’d in the background as we shared a moment of utmost relief.

“Did you think we wouldn’t like you?” Rosalie giggled. “If Cullen loves you, then you must be doing something right.”

“I just… elves… my entire life, I’ve been ridiculed, and…” I started tearing up, a mixture of happiness and the weight of my past sadness manifesting in a trickle of salty tears.

“Oh!” Mia cried, shushing Rosalie’s laughter. “I…”

“My girlfriend’s an elf,” Rosalie said with a smile. “If these two,” she nodded to her siblings at the table, “said anything rude, anything at all - I would personally smack them for you.” 

I laughed for the first time that night. “Oh. Thank you.” 

“Rosalie, we talked about this--” Cullen sighed with a tiny smile creeping onto his face. “No hitting your siblings.”

“Yes, yes, well…” Mia cleared her throat, silencing the incoming bickering from Cullen and Rosalie. “Would you like to finish our meal, sister?”

I grinned. “Of course.”


	2. Relief

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Now they can really celebrate.

The tension that had built up before dinner was finally released, allowing me to fully enjoy the feast in front of us.

I sat down next to Cullen and Rosalie again and took a closer look at all of the food on the table, giving in to my hunger and taking everything I wanted. There was roasted nug, various types of bread and berries, fruits of all sorts, and more; the scent was exquisite, like a warm blanket wrapping around my shoulders in the middle of a blizzard. I tried everything, and ate as if I had never eaten before.

“Whoa, are you okay, Lavellan?” Rosalie chuckled. “It’s not going to disappear or anything, you know.”

“Oh, I…” I gulped hard. “You never know.” I said shyly, throwing a piece of roasted nug to the mabari at my foot. 

Branson grinned at me from across the table. “It’s okay, you can just say my cooking is good.”

Rosalie rolled her eyes next to me. “Don’t be an ass, Branson.” She said as she took a sip of her drink.

“Can you two act like adults for once in your life?” the eldest sibling cut in. “You’re making Lavellan feel awkward.”

“No, it’s alright.” I managed a weak smile. “I already feel like part of the family, bickering included.”

“Well, they should still be polite.” Mia responded, frowning at the younger siblings. 

“Oh, Lavellan, I have a question for you.” Branson said, turning to me. “Do you have any stories from the Inquisition?”

“It’ll take hours to tell them all.” I laughed. “Would you like to hear anything in particular?”

“Ones about Cullen!” the youngest sister grinned, interjecting. “How did you two meet? Was it love at first sight? What abou--”

“Enough, Rosalie!” Mia chided, putting her fork down on the table in anger. “I’m sorry, you don’t have to answer those if you don’t want to, sister.”

“No, it’s alright.” I responded happily. “I met Cullen back in Haven, and for me, I knew there was something special from the moment I saw him.” I looked lovingly at my husband, grinning. “If that answers your question.”

Rosalie whistled loudly. “Well! Yes, it does. Thank you!” She giggled.

By this point, Cullen was basically completely red with embarrassment. I tried to ignore the nervousness budding in my heart as we continued our meal, chatting and feasting.

Eventually, however, we finished; and then it was time for the next part of the Satinalia celebration: gift giving. I was hastily informed by Cullen of this aspect of the holiday in advance, and I had prepared appropriately, with small gifts for all of the Rutherfords. 

We all moved to another part of the room, to a large pile of gifts in the corner of the room. We sat in a small semi-circle around them, and I ended up in between Cullen and Branson near the middle of the group. My mabari sat obediently behind me, occasionally whining for more food. 

“Well, we’ll start with Rosalie, I suppose.” Mia said, nodding to her side at her sister. 

“Oh! Lavellan, I’ll show you how we do Satinalia,” she replied happily. Rosalie then got up, sat in front of us, and picked up four boxes with her name on them from the pile. “So, in our family, this is how we do it…”

Cullen elbowed my side. “Give her your gift. I forgot to remind you in all the comotion when we came in,” he whispered into my ear.

“Er, Rosalie, I-I… I have something for you, sorry, I didn’t put it in the pile.” I said sheepishly, handing Rosalie a small box. 

“It’s alright, sister, no problem.” She smiled back at me kindly. “And now I just open these…” She began tearing open a paper-wrapped box, eventually pulling out a small felt nug. “Oh! Branson, it’s so cute!”

“I hoped you would like it.” Branson chuckled. “I made it myself.”

“Oh, it’s so lovely. Okay, up next…”

We took turns opening eachother’s presents, one at a time, until finally it was my turn. I got up and shyly sat in front of everyone, and Cullen shot me a comforting smile. 

My presents were the last things in the pile: four boxes, all different sizes and shapes. I started with Rosalie’s; a medium sized, square shaped object. I delicately opened it, feeling four pairs of eyes watching me intently as I revealed a painting of a halla, eating grass in a forest.

“I did it myself,” Rosalie said shyly. 

“Oh, it’s wonderful. Thank you.” I replied with a smile.  
I picked up another gift, this time from Branson; it was a soft parcel, wrapped in quiet brown paper. I tore the paper off more forcefully this time, becoming more and more comfortable with the concept of being a real Rutherford.

I pulled out a green and gold scarf, decorated with small figures of elves, scenes of nature, and again, hallas.

“I… also made this myself.” Branson laughed. “I hope you like it.”

“I love it. Thank you.”

“I figured it’s cold over there at Skyhold, so…” He trailed off.

“That’s so sweet! Thank you.” I replied, smiling. 

I took another present, this time from Mia, and opened it quickly and without reservation. The box was medium sized and contained… an inkwell and quill? 

“So you can write me about Cullen,” she grinned. “Since he can’t do it himself.”

“Hey!” Cullen shouted, glaring over at his older sister. 

“She’s right.” Rosalie giggled. 

“Thank you, Mia.” I said gently. 

“Anytime, sis!” She replied jovially. 

The final present was from Cullen, which was a small white box. He smiled at me shyly as I opened it to reveal a small gold ring.

“Oh, Cullen…” I gasped.

“I never really gave you a proper wedding band,” he said sheepishly. “I figured you deserved one. I have one, too.” He held up his right hand and pointed at his finger, which did in fact have the same ring on it. 

“Oh, Maker, that’s the cutest thing I’ve seen all day.” Mia sighed, smiling at her brother lovingly. “I taught you right.”

“M-Mia!” He stammered. 

“No, she’s right, that’s adorable.” Rosalie said. “Nice one, Cullywully.”

“You call him that too?!” I asked, eyes bright with excitement.

“Oh, of course I do!” she replied happily. 

“S-stop that!” Cullen protested, his cheeks bright red.

“Thank you, love.” I smiled at him, taking his hands into mine.

“Happy Satinalia, dearest.”

**Author's Note:**

> hey y'all!! thank you for reading my lil fic!!


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